You have a dream of moving to Belize. How do you make it become a reality? It’s a huge dream, a beautiful dream, and it involves a lot of moving parts. This article will help you with some of the items you should be considering when making the dream become a reality. This should be an enjoyable process for you, from realizing the dream is something you really want to do, to actually being here and living out your dream.
So, Where Do You Start?
First, you need to make a plan. Dreams without plans just remain dreams. And if you actually write down the plan, the chance of the dream becoming a reality increases considerably. According to some studies the chance of success from writing down your plan increased by about 42%. That’s a pretty significant increase in assisting to achieve your desired results.
Writing the plan to achieve your dream takes the dream from being ethereal to becoming real. From dreamy to tangible. And while you are writing down the dream you are able to determine if it’s even a possibility for you.
At this stage you may not want to share your dream with others. People are often naysayers and less supportive for dreams that aren’t the same as yours. These people may be trying to discourage you because of jealousy on their part (they lack the courage to follow their own dreams). They could be trying to discourage you because they, themselves, lack vision to try something different. They may be trying to discourage you because they are threatened by you. Or it may be that you are the source of their discouragement because you don’t research enough. This article is to give you a list, while not all-inclusive, of things you should be reviewing when making your plan.
Your Plan is the Way.
Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way. – Abraham Lincoln
There are at least 3 frameworks to review when putting your plan together. The timeline, financials and other resource frameworks are vital to a good plan. Once you have the information for each of these frameworks then you can start to implement the plan. You will be the decider of whether or not you will proceed with your plan.
Timeline Elements
- Kids at home – when will you be an empty-nester or are you bringing them?]
- If bringing them will you home-school or send to the Belize or international school system
- Do you have a house or investment you need to sell first?
- Will you live off investments or the proceeds of your sale?
- How long will you still have to work to support your new lifestyle?
- Are you planning on being a digital nomad, a remote worker, or will you have staff you still need to manage?
- Do you or any member of your family have health issues?
- Are you diabetic, do you have cancer, are you on any organ rejection meds, blood pressure meds or more too numerous to mention?
- You will need to know exactly which medications you can find here, which you have to go back to your home country to obtain and which ones you can have shipped in.
- Are you diabetic, do you have cancer, are you on any organ rejection meds, blood pressure meds or more too numerous to mention?
- Do you have any special food requirements? Either by choice or by necessity?
These items are important to the timeline because you will need to investigate the source for your specific requirements. Facebook can be a source of information however keep in mind that all comments on Facebook are opinions, may be person specific, and may not fit your particular circumstances.
The Financials
Implementation of your plan will include outlines of how you will finance your plan and how you will finance your new lifestyle in Belize.
- Do you need to sell assets to finance your dream?
- Will you need to work after you move or will you live off your investments?
- Will you need to take money out of your investments?
- How much time do you need to take out the funds from your investment?
- How much will it cost you to take these funds out of your investment?
- Will you rent or buy?
- Costs are less in the long run if you buy but renting gives more options
- Will you come just as a visitor or under the retirement program
- Each of these programs have different ongoing financial requirements
- How many times a week will you eat out? Most co
Other Resources
To aid you in your realization of your dream of relocation to Belize you will need other human resources. These resources include, but I’m not sure aren’t limited to:
- Realtors
- Lawyers
- Customs Broker
- Travel Guide (if you choose to drive here)
- Bankers
- Pet Relocation Services
BAHA for bringing in pets, food and wooden materials - Belize Tourism Board for QRP, or if it still exists, the Digital Nomad program
- Friends who have done it already for anything you may have missed
These resources are important because they have information for you in a variety of different areas. Trying to do this on your own will likely lead to a lot of frustration that you may or may not get over. And I’m sure this is not a comprehensive list however it’s definitely a place to start.
The lists provided here are not intended to intimidate you and turn you away from making your drema a reality. Instead it’s to give you a roadmap, a framework, so that you can be better prepared than if you didn’t have it. This is a huge decision and this framework can be used as a guide to help you determine if making your dream a reality is actually a good thing for you. Nobody can answer that question for you.
A successful transition is the goal. This checklist may be quite beneficial towards that goal.
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